Hells Magic (The Armistice Book 1)

by Leslie Vatenar

  “That’s why you’ve been so… welcoming with me? Were you still playing your part?”

  “I had no intention of keeping you prisoner, contrary to the threats I sent you. And if I let you go, I couldn’t risk you spreading the rumor that I wasn’t the bloodthirsty, violent and angry killer I pretended to be.”

  Jayden was a hell of an actor because I had thought I’d die that day. Since then, he had been completely different. By the time I got his help, his personality had changed. An intelligent and kind man was making his way into my heart.

  “And the sacrifices?”

  “A few months ago, he set out to gain power. I don’t know why. I know there is a specific reason, but he never mentioned it. He was planning to kill twenty people to gain power.”

  “We need to get Alice out of there. Without her powers, she will…”

  My throat was dry, and my ragged breathing was coming out in pants. My concern was at its highest level because everything was only getting worse.

  “We should never have stopped. We should have saved her first.”

  “Katy, you’ve spoken to her, she’s fine. We’ll get her.”

  “No, she isn’t fine! She is being held by a psychopath and you dare to tell me she’s okay!” I cried as burning anger gripped me.

  This anger concealed a different emotion, much more powerful. Jayden shut up, his eyes glued to the road. Not an ounce of annoyance or worry.

  But I didn’t need control; I needed to scream, to take all this stress, all this weight of the world off my shoulders. Faced with his calmness, I looked like a madwoman.

  I glanced at the speedometer, we were easily above the speed limit, but it still wasn’t enough. I wanted to teleport in front of Leroi’s building. We couldn’t even create a portal. I’d never been to Guillard, I couldn’t create an emotional connection with the place and therefore I couldn’t create a portal.

  “I’m sorry,” I finally said. “When you said you attacked people for less than an insult, what exactly were you talking about?”

  A smile-like micro-expression came over his face. “For me, an attack, whether physical or verbal, remains an attack. As a result, I always respond by tripling the damage.”

  “Oh… It’s good to know…”

  He grinned as he looked at me, and I timidly accompanied his smile. I needed positive waves. Better than containing myself in my doubts and fears, I knew I should feed on his confidence and calmness.

  “Princess, I told you we’ll find her safe and sound.”

  “I know, I know. Safe and sound.” I nodded as I tried to convince myself. “I’m worried, that’s all.”

  “I understand that. But I’m here and I intend to keep my promises. Each of them.”

  ***

  After hours of driving, we reached our destination. In front of a building. Right in the middle of town.

  “You’re serious?”

  “It’s the perfect hideout. An actual Trojan horse in the city.”

  “No one suspects anything,” I remarked.

  “Oh, everyone knows, but no one is crazy enough to go after Leroi.”

  “How do we get in there? If you enter through the front door using force, it’ll get the attention of the entire city. Not to mention the fact that we would be executed.”

  “It’s seven fifteen p.m. Leroi should be back soon.”

  Jayden and I almost had to twist our necks to see the tip of the building. It was huge, simple and modern. Its facades were glazed, and blue lights emanated from within. The lights were so strong I couldn’t see the interior of the building. It was beautiful, but it was in every way a monument of grandeur and narcissism. Humans wouldn’t suspect anything and supernaturals would stay very far away from this building if they knew who it belonged to.

  Jayden still had his eyes on the building.

  “How does Leroi acquire his women?” I asked as an idea formed in my mind.

  Why were all my ideas as crazy as each other?

  “He buys them. I don’t know the terms.”

  “What if we served him one on a silver platter?”

  His head whirled around so fast that I thought his neck was going to break. “No! No! No! No and No.”

  “Look, I have an idea. I introduce myself to him; he adds me to the other women; I meet Alice and we escape. Don’t ask me the details; I’m still working on it.”

  “With such a detailed and meticulous plan, even Arsène Lupin would envy you.”

  My shoulders slumped. “You don’t trust me.”

  As my eyes were glued to the car’s floor, he searched my gaze.

  “If you think you can climb a mountain, I think you can lift it. Believe me; it has nothing to do with trust. Leroi is a dangerous man; I’ll never let you go alone.”

  “If you trusted me, you would let me go. I’ll bring Alice back.”

  “Katy…”

  “Jayden! What were you going to do anyway? You don’t have a plan either.”

  “I’m working on it,” he mumbled. He stared into space. After several seconds he sighed with a grimace. “I hate to let you do that,” he whispered.

  “Yes!” I exclaimed with satisfaction. “So, let’s discuss the plan.”

  “The only way to get his attention is to attack him. It’s going to excite him. Then, once in the building, find Alice. We’ll stay in touch the entire time. If I feel the slightest alert, if my intuition whispers to me to intervene, I will.”

  “Okay. Tell me, how powerful is Leroi?”

  “Let’s say I’ve already met more powerful.”

  “Oh, who?”

  “Me.” He looked at me with a grimace and a raised eyebrow that emphasized the evidence of the answer.

  I face-palmed. “Jayden… It’s not very complicated to be less powerful than you.”

  This man was infuriating.

  “Oh yeah, that’s true.” A smug smile appeared on his face, his eyes gleaming with pride and malice.

  I gazed at his face for a few seconds, disturbed by the difference between the closed and cold face that had “welcomed” me on the first day we had met and the face I had in front of me now. A delicious smile, bright eyes, his beauty was even more transcendent.

  “I just fed your obese ego, didn’t I?”

  “Many people confuse ego with truth, don’t make that mistake. You should just thank the universe for granting you the right to be in my divine presence.”

  I looked up at the sky; there was nothing I could do for him. He was a lost cause.

  “Seriously. Do you think he’ll notice my illusion? His right arm has already seen me; I can’t show up virgin-like at his building.”

  At the word “virgin”, Jayden flinched. He paled and tensed, still looking at me.

  “What… what I mean is that… I can’t risk him recognizing me. I have to hide my appearance.”

  He regained his color as I attempted to explain, and after a quick breath, a broad smile returned to his face.

  “You’re right, you can’t show up virgin-like,” he said, emphasizing the word “virgin”. “I am fully at your disposal to take care of this little detail.”

  It was my turn to tense in front of Jayden who tried to hide his smile. It was a waste of time. I let the storm of emotions raging in me fade while noticing, nevertheless, that some of my wildest thoughts were all excited at the idea that Jayden and I would act on what we had both imagined in the bathroom.

  Then I slapped him in the stomach and he burst out laughing.

  “I honestly expected worse,” he said, holding his stomach but from laughter rather than pain.

  “Here he is.”

  He showed me a man entering the building.

  “Okay. I’m going.”

  I got out of the car. Every step that took me closer to the building sped up my heart rate.

  “I’ll be there all the time, princess, and if you doubt anything, I’ll get you out
of there.”

  “Okay.”

  CHAPTER 26

  I approached the building, concealed by my illusion. My red hair was now brown, my eyes were green, and I had generous curves. I looked at myself in the window of a car parked in front of the building. I’d overdone myself. Frankly, I might even be jealous of myself.

  I glanced around when I entered. A reception desk stood in front of me and all the white leather chairs were empty. The place seemed normal. The receptionist greeted Leroi with a broad smile and handed him a key.

  I hoped that my power had recharged during the trip, but, frankly, I didn’t need much to get his attention. I wouldn’t fight him, just attract him.

  I called my magic. The surrounding air crackled with energy as it became heavy and magnetic. I summoned a ball of pure energy. Its brilliance illuminated the entire room and testified to its power. It looked like I had actually recovered.

  He spun. But my attack was already launched. When the ball reached him, an explosion rang out and he was flung back against the wall behind the receptionist.

  “Give me my sister back!” I shouted.

  Okay, I was in supreme improvisation mode. I hoped that he had no idea who Alice was and that Craid had only given her to Leroi knowing he loved women and he was cruel.

  Yes, it was idyllic.

  Leroi got up as the receptionist ran over to me. She let go of her long hair, which turned into black snakes.

  Sweet Jesus. A Gorgon.

  She hissed, as did her snakes, and took out her bifid tongue. Her lips pulled back revealing long, pointed canines. Her cheeks hollowed out when she opened her mouth and her lips turned black.

  Cold panic surged in me. I avoided direct eye contact with her to prevent her gaze from petrifying me. One of her snakes lunged for me and I stooped. Then I delivered a right hook. She fell to the ground but got up just as quickly. Then chaos erupted.

  The snakes that wriggled on her head sprang. All at the same time. I conjured a force field to counter their attacks.

  “How does it look?” Jayden asked.

  “Cannot get better,” I lied, bracing my force field.

  I propelled my force field over her, which sent her flying into the air a few yards away. She rose as if nothing had happened, ready for another attack. Leroi stopped her by blocking her path with one hand.

  “You have a hell of a lot of balls to come and compete with me in my own damn building,” he said.

  His voice was light and rather high-pitched for a man with his body. He was tall and muscular as a bodybuilder. But, frankly, he didn’t need to shout his strength at the top of his lungs. Deep voice or not, he oozed danger.

  “Give me my sister back before I cut yours into small pieces.”

  What am I even doing? I cried in despair in my head.

  He smiled and took a step toward me. “I like it. Who’s your sister?”

  Oh. Did Craid sell her under her real name? Chances were that Leroi had never seen Alice. We weren’t like the humans who spent half their lives watching over their leaders. Our information systems were limited. Our leaders weren’t elected by referendums as in a democratic system. Many supernaturals had no idea who made the biggest decisions.

  “She has brown hair; she’s tall and has big green eyes. She’s the most beautiful woman you could have.”

  He kept that mischievous and predatory smile. “I have many women.”

  “But you only have one like her.”

  He cocked his head. He had charisma. The charisma of a leader, a man willing to do anything to get what he wanted. He bit his lower lip. His brown skin had no imperfection and his brown eyes were hypnotic. Too bad his soul was as dark as they were. He was a mage without a doubt, but he stank of black magic. He had to deal with many necromancers, which would explain why there was a dangerous creature from the Hells in his building.

  “I think I know who you’re talking about. Do you want me to take you to her?”

  “Yes.”

  Take me to her? Lock me up with her, he surely meant. With these men, you had to have some code breaker in your mind.

  “Very well. Follow me.”

  He turned and walked to the elevator. The Gorgon, who had taken back her normal hair, gave me a black look, and then she went back to her counter. A customer walked through the door and she greeted him with a beautiful smile.

  The elevator doors opened and Leroi beckoned me in with a smile on his face. A beautiful act of chivalry. He was really good. It would be easy to get caught up in his trap.

  “Give me some good news. Anything.”

  “The sky is blue.”

  “Thank you, Jayden, I never noticed that detail, you’re very helpful.”

  “I could have been more helpful, but you pushed me out of the mission.”

  “Don’t hold a grudge.”

  “Me? Never.”

  The sarcasm sprang from his words.

  The doors opened on the top floor. Again, he let me step out before he did. But something told me that what I thought was chivalry was rather a desire to keep his eyes on me.

  As a hotel, there were multiple rooms to the left and right. A dark red carpet covered the floor, and my stress ratcheted up a notch. That red reminded me too much of blood.

  “Room one hundred and one.”

  To my right, I read 80. I stepped forward, looking from right to left to find the room. Ninety-nine on the left. 100 on the right. And then 101. Left.

  I paused, waiting for his instructions. He walked past me and opened the door with his key.

  Then he told me to go in, which I did with my pounding heart trying to break everything in my chest.

  As I stepped into the room, it lit up. On the bed, I saw the shape of a woman and I couldn’t help but run toward it. I prayed to all the saints that it was Alice. Hearing my footsteps, the figure rose and Alice’s wonderful face appeared to me.

  I hugged her with tears in my eyes. I cried as I drowned in a torrent of emotions. However, deliverance and relief were the strongest. She started. Then she realized that the stranger who hugged her was none other than me, and she hugged me back.

  I broke away to look at her and make sure she was okay. Her imperfections struck me harder than a punch with brass knuckles.

  Fatigue marked her face. Her bruises broke my heart. Her mouth was swollen and a gash cut off her thin, pink lips. Red lines on her arms contrasted with her pale skin. It looked like she had been whipped. Her normally green eyes were red as if she’d cried for hours. She looked down, noticing my horrified expression.

  She took the blanket from the bed and covered herself. I’d never seen her so vulnerable and this vision squeezed my heart. Hatred, anger, and disgust overwhelmed me. Murderous thoughts filled my mind as I turned to Leroi, who smiled, showing all his white teeth. Teeth that I was going to rip out.

  “I found her.”

  “Great. Now get out of there.”

  “You know, I’d planned a nice evening. Playing again with the new one, finishing the mental destruction I had begun with her.” He approached us and I charged my power to the maximum. “She arrived as a soldier, a fighter as I’ve never seen. But I’m an experienced man,” he said with a proud and vicious smile.

  The more he spoke the more I wanted to make my attack fatal. My parents’ upbringing mentioned that I was neither a judge nor an executor. But it was so tempting. The desire to crumble him for what he had done to Alice was eating me alive. I was shaking with rage.

  I couldn’t wait any longer. I released a powerful bolt of energy, but with one hand Leroi deflected the attack, which turned against me. It reached me in the chest and the pain spread throughout my body. The energy passing through my body made me shudder. A cry of pain eluded me.

  “As I said, I’m an experienced man.”

  Leroi approached me, grabbing me by the hair and forcing me to get up. My legs were still shaking an
d I could barely stand.

  I saw Alice run toward me, but with a single glance from Leroi, she stopped.

  “I couldn’t have asked for anything better than to see you join our party. Breaking minds is what I do best. I can’t wait to show you what all this means. Let’s start. Hayley, take this, beautiful.” He gave her a knife.

  Alice shuddered and wept. It was the first time I’d seen her so helpless.

  “Now, cut your arm.”

  The horror of his request snatched a cry from me. “No, don’t do that!”

  She cried as she placed the knife on her forearm.

  “Do it. You know exactly what will happen if you don’t.”

  I tried to free myself, but Leroi’s grip was cruel on my hair. So I tried a magical approach. But he shook me using my hair.

  “Try anything and I order her to stab herself.”

  I struggled to breathe, my heart was pounding too hard in my chest, and my brain was on fire trying to find a solution. I had Jayden, I could call him, but it would jeopardize all his years of work to earn Leroi’s trust and any chances of bringing him and his plans to the ground.

  Alice cut her forearm slowly and cried in pain.

  I couldn’t take it anymore, I had to intervene; her screams were ripping my heart apart. Yet a voice in my head commanded me to wait.

  “Katy, is everything okay? I feel something weird.”

  “It’s okay.”

  “You see, things are easier when you’re docile.”

  Alice kept the knife firmly in her hand, blood dripping from it. I left this image on one side of my head. First, I had to free myself from Leroi’s grip.

  He let me go. I staggered before finding my balance.

  “It took me long hours to get to that level of obedience. I’ll show you how we do it. Strangle yourself,” he commanded me.

  When he spoke, his voice echoed in my mind, it was so sweet and melodious. Echoes amplified the order he’d given me. I watched—without being able to stop it—my two hands coming to my neck and tightening it. I soon missed the air. My head swirled and my vision blurred. I suffocated.

  “It’s okay, you can stop.”

  I could finally breathe, my hands obeying his order.